Before I Go to Sleep (2014)

Elevator Pitch: A woman wakes up in bed next to a man who she does not know. What is going on? He explains that he is her husband and that she had an accident years ago which resulted in her waking up every day with no memory of anything from the previous day or before. She finds a wall of photos showing her images from their life together, and after her busband has left for work she receives a call from a man who says he is a neurologist, and who guides her to a camera on which she is keeping a diary, gradually awakening her memories. As the process continues she finds that things may not be quite what they seem.

Content: It would not be a spoiler to say that we go with her and her doctor to a place where her body had been found; as it turns out, she had not had an accident, but had been attacked and left for dead. She does not know who to trust, her husband, the doctor or her friend Claire. She finds that she has had a baby, what happened to it? She has flashbacks to the violent event in the past, which seems to have taken place in a hotel. So there is tension, moments of violence, a bit of almost nudity and some non-revelatory sex.

A View

Considering that this was a very small scale production it cost quite a bit, and did not go anywhere towards making its money back. There are a couple of things which mark it down in my view (And in the view of most critics). Firstly the logic of the plot just does not hold together so we are left thinking, well what about…and then…? And finally – no, if I go further it would be a spoiler – but I can say that there is unwarranted sweetness and light in the finale.

Duration

1h 32m

Rating (UK)

15

Source of story

A novel of the same name by S.J. Watson

Director

Rowan Joffe

Writers/Script

Rowan Joffe

Starring

Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Anne-Marie Duff

Additional Info

There are differences between the film and the book, possibly making the plot of the latter more viable.